22 mummies are moved in a glittering display in Cairo

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, March 29, 2024


22 mummies are moved in a glittering display in Cairo
A performer dressed in ancient Egyptian costume looks on at the start of the parade of 22 ancient Egyptian royal mummies departing from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square on April 3, 2021, on their way to their new resting place at the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) about seven kilometres south in historic Fustat (Old Cairo). Dubbed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade, the 18 kings and four queens will travel in order, oldest first, each aboard a separate float decorated in ancient Egyptian style. Mahmoud KHALED / AFP.

by Mona El-Naggar



CAIRO (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Downtown Cairo came to a near standstill Saturday night as 22 mummies were moved from a museum where they had resided for more than a century to a new home, transported atop custom-made vehicles in a glittering, meticulously planned procession.

The fanfare — broadcast live on state television and complete with a military band, a 21-gun salute and a host of Egyptian A-list celebrities — served as both a grand opening of sorts for the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, where the country’s oldest monarchs were set to land, and an invitation to tourists to return to Cairo after the pandemic.

“These are the mummies of kings and queens who ruled during Egypt’s golden age,” said Zahi Hawass, a former minister of antiquities who supervised the discovery of tombs that date back thousands of years. “It’s a thrill, everyone will watch.”

Everyone, except many Egyptians.

Along the 5-mile path to the new museum lay stretches of working-class neighborhoods that were deliberately hidden from view ahead of the parade, a reminder of the jarring divide between Egypt’s celebrated past and its uncertain present.

Banners proclaiming the “Pharaohs’ Golden Parade” and large national flags prevented television viewers from peering inside Cairo’s impoverished areas and kept local residents from getting a glimpse of the polished, made-for-TV spectacle. In one spot, plastic screens at least 10 feet tall were mounted on scaffolding to close gaps in a cream-colored wall.

In a television interview, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities credited President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for conceiving of the public procession as a way to draw tourists back after the pandemic brought international travel to a halt last year.

But the spectacle also underlined the economic and social divisions in Egypt’s capital.

“There is a tendency to try to show a better picture instead of fixing the existing reality,” Ahmed Zaazaa, an urban planner, said of the government’s public-image efforts. “The government says they are making reforms, but the vast majority of people in Cairo who live in working-class neighborhoods are excluded.”

© 2021 The New York Times Company










Today's News

April 4, 2021

20 Women...

22 mummies are moved in a glittering display in Cairo

Should museums sell treasured works? Pandemic revives debate

Amalia Pica is now represented by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Salzburg opens an exhibition of works by Georg Baselitz

Who are the pharaohs who moved home in Cairo?

MASSIMODECARLO opens an exhibition of new works by Aaron Garber-Maikovska

Phillips to offer REPLICATOR by Mad Dog Jones, the first NFT in company history

Flea circus contraptions to encore at Sworders' Out of the Ordinary auction

Constance Demby, prominent new age composer, is dead at 81

First NASA flight director's personal collection coming to Heritage Auctions

Five records set in $2.2 million Heritage movie posters auction

$1M for Printed & Manuscript African Americana at Swann

Robert Berry Gallery announces its new virtual exhibition 'Tales of Adjusted Desire'

Super Mario Bros. sells for $660,000 at Heritage Auctions, smashing world record

Trying times for Belgium's scaffold-caged Palace of Justice

Her book is about belonging. She's struggling with the idea.

She never dreamed of acting. Now she's an Oscar nominee for 'Minari.'

Can we really picture Auschwitz?

This summer, get invigorated with a live cultural performance

Review: Dreamy cowboys and a ballet bath

Broadway reopened. For 36 minutes. It's a start.

Stephenson's gathers estate treasures for April 9 Spring Decorative Arts Auction

Great uses of Steroids Canada products

How Does Zapoj Help Healthcare Providers with Vaccination and Beyond?

History, Gods, and Goddesses of Greek Mythology

7 Best PS4 Games, You Should Play in 2021

Benefits of proctored exams




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

sa gaming free credit
Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful